Peter
Maneas
A Sydney builder who co-founded one of Australia’s biggest apartment construction firms, then spent years sailing the Greek islands on camera. That is Peter Maneas, the host of the travel series My Greek Odyssey, which ran for seven seasons from 2018 to 2024. This guide covers his Kytherian roots, his wife Helen and son Irinaios, the Ganellen business, where he is now and Peter Maneas net worth today.
| Nationality | Australian |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Builder, Property Developer, TV Host |
| Wife | Helen Maneas |
| Son | Irinaios |
| Father | George Maneas |
| Mother | Irene Maneas |
| Heritage | Greek (Kythera) |
| Hometown | Bondi Junction, Sydney |
| Company | Ganellen (co-founded 1998) |
| TV Show | My Greek Odyssey (2018–2024) |
Biography
Peter Maneas was born and raised in Bondi Junction, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the son of Kytherian Greek migrants George and Irene Maneas. His mother arrived in Australia in 1954. “She came to Australia at the age of 20, my father was 40,” he told Greek City Times in 2017. He grew up with two sisters.
A mother with three jobs
Both of his parents worked at the Grace Brothers department store in Bondi Junction, and the family also ran The Spot Cafe in Nowra, according to his official website. His mother took on second and third jobs. “As a boy I watched my mother work three jobs to give us everything we needed,” he says in the trailer for his show. “We had no luxuries.”
She was also the first Greek woman in their circle to learn to drive and own a car, and the family was among the first to buy a colour television. “They also made me believe that if I worked hard enough I could achieve anything,” he said.
The trip to Greece that changed his life
When he was 10, his mother used her savings to take the children to Greece, where they stayed for months. “I spent six months living there when I was a child and it changed my life,” he told Athens Insider in 2020. “There I found my family, my culture, my DNA,” he says in the show’s trailer. He went on to spend many June and September school holidays in the islands.
Education
He went to a local public school in Sydney and then to university, where he studied construction and engineering. To pay his way, he worked at a relative’s restaurant in Bondi Beach, starting as a dishwasher before moving up to waiting tables and cooking.
Career
From cadet to construction executive
His building career started on a university noticeboard. He spotted an advertised cadetship at a large construction company, applied, and was the only candidate interviewed, according to his website. He stayed with that company for 17 years, and it grew tenfold while he was there.
Ganellen
In 1998, he and a close friend sold their homes to fund their own company. That company was Ganellen, a design and construction firm based in Sydney that works across Australia and New Zealand. At its peak it was the country’s fifth-largest apartment builder. The National Herald described him in 2020 as Ganellen’s co-founder, majority shareholder and CEO.
My Greek Odyssey
The idea for the show came from home videos. His wife Helen filmed him for years as he described the islands they visited, and he had wanted to turn that into a series for at least five years. My Greek Odyssey, produced by The Rusty Cage, launched on Australia’s Seven Network in 2018 and was licensed to more than 40 countries.
Each season follows him and his crew on his superyacht, Mia Zoi, which means “One Life” in Greek. “It was always my dream to travel the Greek islands in my very own super yacht,” he told Greek City Times. The show ran for seven seasons. Season three covered the Dodecanese, season six (August 2023) the Central Cyclades, and season seven (2024) Evia, Skyros, the Sporades and the Saronic Gulf. Episodes have aired on Seven, 7plus, Amazon Prime Video, Cosmote History in Greece and London Live in the UK.
Highlights from the islands
One of his proudest projects is the Mentor, the ship that sank off Kythera in 1802 while carrying Parthenon sculptures taken by Lord Elgin. Neos Kosmos reported in 2019 that he had backed the underwater excavation since 2015 and dived on the wreck while filming. He set a goal of reaching all 227 inhabited Greek islands, and by early 2020 he had visited more than 100.
Where is Peter Maneas now?
Peter Maneas is alive and still based in Sydney. His official website says he now focuses on his family, his property business and exploring the Greek islands. The My Greek Odyssey accounts keep posting island food and travel clips, including a post for Greece’s Ochi Day in late October 2026, and the series is available on demand.
Controversies and Disputes
Ganellen entity in administration (2020)
In December 2020, one of the Ganellen companies went into voluntary administration, according to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Greek Herald. The entity had traded as Ganellen Pty Ltd for 22 years before changing its name to GDC Group in May 2020. An owners’ corporation had been chasing it in court since 2017 over more than $1 million in alleged defects at a North Shore apartment block.
A Ganellen spokesman said all projects linked to that entity had been finished and in use for more than two years, and that staff and contractors had been paid in full. He said the move had “no impact on any project currently under construction.”
The Macquarie Park scaffolding death
The same reports noted that another Ganellen company, GN Residential Construction, had been ordered to pay $900,000 over the death of apprentice formworker Christopher Cassaniti. The 18-year-old died in 2019 when scaffolding collapsed at Ganellen’s Macquarie Park site in Sydney.
Personal Life
Wife
Peter Maneas is married to Helen Maneas. She was behind the camera long before the show existed, filming his commentary on their trips, which gave him the idea for My Greek Odyssey. Asked on the Ouzo Talk podcast in January 2022 to pick a favourite island, he joked, “I have one wife, so I’ve got my favourite one.” He added that Santorini has “been romantic for me and my wife.”
Children
The couple have one son, Irinaios. He was 13 in January 2020, according to The National Herald, which puts his birth around 2006. In March 2023, Maneas posted a photo on X of “my son Irinaios making wine with our neighbour Jim in Sydney 7 years ago and today.” He wrote that “the cultural DNA is still there no matter how old or where you are in the world.”
Philosophy
His motto comes from the name of his yacht. “We only live once, so get the most out of your life, no matter what!” he says on his website.
Timeline
1954: His mother, Irene, arrives in Australia from Kythera at 20.
Early 1960s: Peter Maneas is born in Sydney and grows up in Bondi Junction.
Early 1970s: At about 10, he spends months in Greece with his mother and sisters.
Early 1980s: He wins a cadetship at a large construction company while at university.
1981–1998: He spends 17 years at that firm, which grows tenfold.
1998: He and a friend sell their homes to found Ganellen.
About 2006: His son Irinaios is born.
About 2012: He buys his first boat.
2015: He starts supporting the excavation of the Mentor shipwreck off Kythera.
December 2016: The first My Greek Odyssey trailer is released.
2018: My Greek Odyssey premieres on Seven in Australia.
2019: Apprentice Christopher Cassaniti dies at Ganellen’s Macquarie Park site.
January 2020: Season three, covering the Dodecanese, is promoted in The National Herald.
May 2020: Ganellen Pty Ltd changes its name to GDC Group.
December 2020: GDC Group goes into voluntary administration.
January 2022: He shares island tips on the Ouzo Talk podcast.
January 2023: London Live brings the series back to UK screens.
March 26, 2023: He posts about his son making wine in Sydney.
August 13, 2023: Season six, on the Central Cyclades, premieres in Australia.
July to October 2024: Season seven, the final run, airs.
Late October 2026: The My Greek Odyssey account marks Greece’s Ochi Day.
Net Worth
Peter Maneas’s net worth is estimated at $6–9 million. Most of it comes from his stake in Ganellen, the construction firm he co-founded in 1998 and grew into a major apartment builder. Close to three decades of income as its chief executive, plus his property business, make up the rest.
His lifestyle fits that range. He owns the superyacht Mia Zoi and paid for his own travel series for seven seasons. Even so, he sits far below the A$747 million needed to make the 2025 Financial Review Rich List, according to Mediaweek.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Peter Maneas’s net worth?
Peter Maneas’s net worth is estimated at $6–9 million, mainly from his stake in the construction firm Ganellen.
How old is Peter Maneas?
He was born in the early 1960s, which puts him in his early 60s in 2026. His exact birth date is not public.
Who is Peter Maneas’s wife?
His wife is Helen Maneas. Her home videos of their island trips inspired My Greek Odyssey.
How many children does Peter Maneas have?
He has one son, Irinaios, born around 2006.
Is Peter Maneas still alive?
Yes. Peter Maneas is alive and lives in Sydney, where he runs his property business.
Where is Peter Maneas now?
He is based in Sydney and spends time in the Greek islands. My Greek Odyssey wrapped its seventh season in 2024 and is available on demand.
